The 37-year-old, who virtually raced out of knee surgical procedure to make the Wimbledon remaining 5 weeks later, clinched gold on the Paris Olympics, outplaying Carlos Alcaraz in a match that was all about psychological acuity.
Djokovic is in New York now, searching for a 25th main title that will take him previous Margaret Courtroom and likewise give him a 100th profession crown.
Djokovic, returning to onerous courts after 5 months, performed Moldova’s Radu Albot within the US Open first spherical. It wasn’t his greatest serving day. He had 10 double faults and clocked solely 47% of first serves, however the second seed was nonetheless adequate to undergo 6-2, 6-2, 6-Four and arrange a second-round assembly with compatriot Laslo Djere on Wednesday.
Djokovic trailed Djere by two units within the third spherical of the US Open final 12 months earlier than turning it spherical.
“Djere likes enjoying on the large stage,” Djokovic mentioned of his 29-year-old opponent, ranked 109 on the earth. “He additionally loves the situations right here. It’s a bit faster, the ball stays low. He has a flat backhand, superb serve, nice return. I bear in mind very effectively our match (from final 12 months). It was a really powerful match. I’m going to attempt to analyze that and hopefully do some issues even higher than I did final 12 months.”
The excellent news is that the suitable knee is doing fantastic. Djokovic demonstrated that towards Albot, masking the court docket, stretching, sliding, and portray the traces. He moved the Moldovan round, forcing him to make that additional step, attain a bit of wider and swing a bit of more durable.
Djokovic, whose record-collecting run ought to be a part of educational curriculum, turned the oldest US Open champion within the Open Period when he claimed his fourth crown final 12 months.
“I’ve been round for fairly a couple of years, (round) completely different generations of gamers,” Djokovic mentioned. “The form of rivalries I’ve with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, particularly, and different guys from the technology earlier than — Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas — are the form of matchups that encourage me on a weekly foundation, (it) pushes me to have the ability to run for hours with them on the largest stage.”
“There’s a large age distinction, however that’s nonetheless not affecting me in an enormous method,” he mentioned. “I be ok with myself, about my recreation, about the place I’m and what I’ve achieved within the final a number of years.”
Djokovic, who together with fellow professional Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, introduced the creation of the Skilled Tennis Gamers Affiliation on the eve of the 2020 US Open, features inspiration from off-court ventures too.
“I’ve numerous issues off the court docket that also run my juices. I like being a part of the tennis story, PTPA can also be one thing that motivates me. I’ve been engaged on this for a few years, even earlier than it was based. I really feel prefer it’s my duty being any individual who has a reputation and a standing within the sport,” he added.
“Loads of gamers look as much as me, Federer and Nadal. They search for steering they usually hope to get into management roles, as effectively.”
The phrases of the nice mountaineer Edmund Hillary should resonate with the all-conquering Djokovic: ‘It’s not the mountain we conquer, however ourselves’. It was by no means more true for the Serb than in that golden second in Paris 2024.